Botany and Ormiston Times : Botany and Ormiston Times Thursday April 7 2016

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Botany and Ormiston Times, Thursday, April 7, 2016 — 5
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Thursday’s termination was part of a
long-running investigation into an organised
criminal group alleged to be responsible for a
methamphetamine manufacture and supply
ring.
Five of the people alleged to be involved
are members or associates of the Head
Hunters gang.
One of the search warrants was carried out
at a tyre shop in Otahuhu where casino chips,
cash and several high-end cars were found
and seized.
The search at the shop saw the rims of
the hundreds of tyres in the shop removed.
Hidden in one tyre was a bag of cash
(estimated to contain tens of thousands of
dollars) and a kilo of ephedrine (used to make
meth) and worth around $120,000.
In a second tyre was another 2kg of
ephedrine, worth around $240 000.
“ This is a huge find and goes to show the
efforts that people go to when it comes
to meth and the chemicals used to make
it,” Detective Senior Sergeant Lloyd Schmid,
Organised Crime said.
“ These drugs and money have been well-
concealed and were hidden at the bottom of
a pile of dozens of other tyres.”
On Thursday afternoon 11 men and 4
women appeared in the Auckland District
Court.
They faced various charges including;
– Participating in an organised criminal group
– Manufacturing methamphetamine
– Supplying methamphetamine
– Possession for supply
– Supplying class b controlled drug
(ephedrine)
– Supplying class b controlled drug (GBL)
– Possession of material (caustic soda) with
intent
– Possession of equipment with intent
A 59-year-old man appeared in the Kaikohe
District court, charged with supplying
methamphetamine and participating in an
organised criminal group.
One man appeared in the Hamilton District
Court on similar charges, and another on
similar charges in the Rotorua District Court.
A total of five firearms were found
throughout the day, at various addresses
where officers carried out the search
warrants.
Two clan labs were located at rural
properties in the Bay of Plenty.
Multiple vehicles, which now also include
a Harley Davidson and a Chevrolet Camaro,
have also been seized by the Police Asset
Recovery Unit.
This Haines Hunter boat was seized from a
storage unit in East Tamaki.
Photo supplied
➤➤ From page 1
Cops swoop
on meth ring
➤■ By Marianne Kelly
Botany Crime Watch
volunteers have a new
patrol base at the Botany
Town Centre.
The office, at the rear of the
food court, was officially opened
last Friday.
Dick Marshall, chairman of the
Botany Crime Watch Patrol said
when the first car patrol was
established in April 2004 “we
broke every rule in the book,
doing a lot of things we didn’t
have the skill sets to do”.
“It was a good thing though
because we came back and said
‘we have got to do things better’.
So we worked on improving
to create an environment that
volunteers would want to join,”
he said.
“ Thirteen years on and it’s still
going strong. If nothing else,
the word is out that we are in
business, we are professional
and want to do more work in
the community and with the
council.”
Botany Town Centre
management, he said, had been
extremely good to the group for
many years.
“ They’ve gifted us office space
year after year.”
Auckland Council Howick
Ward councillor, Dick Quax
acknowledged the group’s work
and the support that originally
Manukau City Council and
now Auckland Council gave;
also the Botany Town Centre’s
contribution to the community.
“Sometimes it takes a
catalyst to get involved in the
community,” he said. “For me
it was a home invasion and I
realised then that the only way
to keep ourselves safe was not to
rely totally on the police but look
for the help of neighbours and
the community,
“ That’s why this patrol
and community group is so
important,” he said. “Your
passion and persistence of
the volunteers is important
because I know you are not just
patrolling, but doing other work
in the community too.”
Wendy Spiller, Counties
Manukau East Police area
commander said the relationship
between the patrol group and
the police was a true partnership
which had realised a positive
result over 13 years.
“Because members of the
community want it to be safe,
they take ownership of their
patch. We need you to continue
to do that work. We can’t be the
eyes and ears everywhere,” she
said.
“In the three years in my role I
have seen the skill levels of the
patrol increase. They are always
looking at developing those
skills. Aimlessly driving around
achieves nothing. Patrols need a
purpose.”
➤➤ The Botany Crime Watch
Patrol office is at the Botany
Town Centre rear food court
entrance under the cinemas.
➤■ By Marianne Kelly
While it took about a month
to paint, Howick artist Merv
Appleton’s fifth entry into a high-
profile ANZAC art competition
involves a lifetime of research
and preparation.
Mr Appleton learned last
week that his entry is a finalist
in the 2016 Gallipoli Art Prize,
conducted by the Gallipoli
Memorial Club in Sydney,
Australia. It features the heroic
work of horses in the World War
I battlefields of the Somme and
Passchendaele.
“ The Light Horse was a subject
that had been in my mind for a
while,” he says. My great-uncle
was a stretcher bearer and what
they did was incredibly brave
considering the conditions. It
was all very well having snow
everywhere, but bullets and
shells flying added another
dimension.
“ They were appalling
conditions. You don’t forget
those things.”
While New Zealand sent a
Light Horse Division to World
War I, Mr Appleton says the
Australian Light Horse Divisions
that pulled wounded ANZACs
to medical facilities in the
battlefields of the Somme and
Passchendaele were famous.
“ The conditions were
appalling and wheels of
ambulance trucks got stuck,” he
says. “ The horses were able to
get in there and pull the wagons
of wounded out.
“ The battlefields were
covered with snow and the
horses battled through with the
walking wounded staggering
behind.”
Mr Appleton believes this is
where the ANZAC camaraderie
was formed.
“It was a huge bond. They
never left their mates behind
“ Today, look at what the New
Zealand and Australian fire-
fighter and ambulance services
do in emergencies. We go over
there and they come here. They
don’t need to be asked.
While Mr Appleton has not
won the prize before, in 2012 he
was proud when his painting The
Stretcher Bearers was bought by
the Sydney club for its collection
to mark the 100 year anniversary
of the Battle of Gallipoli.
He is looking forward to
attending the exhibition where
he enjoys meeting the artists
and seeing the other paintings.
“I feel that though you’re
out of it [war service] you can
do something to keep the
movement alive.
“Australia and New Zealand
are linked together like two
brothers. The debate about
the two flags being so similar
amuses me. No other two
countries are so closely linked in
the world.
“We may have different
opinions on rugby football or
business. But when push comes
to shove we are there for each
other and I feel we should never
lose sight of that.”
➤➤ The Gallipoli Club Art Prize
exhibition runs from April
21-April 29 (except ANZAC Day
on April 25) at the Gallipoli
Memorial Club, Sydney,
Australia.
criMe watch
Patrol base opened
art
Heroic work of horses
Opening the Botany Crime Watch office, from left, Wendy Spiller, Counties
Manukau East Police area commander, Auckland Council Howick Ward
councillor Dick Quax and Botany Crime Watch patrol chairman Dick
Marshall.
Times photo Wayne Martin
For the fifth year Merv Appleton has entered a painting in the Gallipoli
Art Prize in Australia with his tribute to the World War I Light Horses.
Times photo Wayne Martin